The last couple of weeks efforts

Nice looking group of cabs! You're doing great! As far as your question about working with standard shapes, while not a necessity, I've always been of the opinion that one will develop better skill sets if they first learn to produce and work with standard calibrated/standard shaped stones.

It's the equivalent of an art student first learning to draw and paint realistically before delving into impressionism or more contemporary art styles. After mastering realism the student will be better equipped to produce whatever their imagination can envision in other styles.

Sorry if that reads a bit flaky but it's the best comparison I can think of at 6:30am.

Larry C.

I've got big shoulders I can take it, Constructive criticism that is.  I want the best finish as I can get, so I welcome  any hints, tips and guidance that people have to offer. As I do a bit of wood turning I find myself always turning other peoples work over and looking at the hard to finish areas to see how much effort they have put in the the quality of finish.
The bloodstone I disliked it from the minute I started it but I kept going, it does have orange peel areas.
The 2 jaspers have little pits in the stone.
But I have noticed that my finish has been as good in the last couple of weeks as what it was. Since doing the petrified wood below.  So I spent a bit of time in the shed today, trying to figure if I'm doing any thing different.  I find cabbing a bit like sharpening the chainsaw,  that is I can't do either very well without my reading glasses and good light.
I'm using a flat lap with cheap electroplated laps to shape and dome,  then to Sic on rubber foam (400 grit to well worn out 1200) then polish (I have an old jar of Gamma polish that I have been using) on felt. I also have some cerium that I haven't tried yet.
What I did find when I was in the shed was that when I stuck my hand on the shelf under the lap where I keep the felt / polish lap that it felt gritty.  I have been just grabbing the lap and using.  So I gave it a good clean and a test by turning the felt over and giving one of the greenstone another touch.  It did improve slightly, so I guess the felt is going in the bin.
I need some more Sic discs so while I'm at it, I'll change them over as well. I think I'll find some small storage tubs to keep them in, from now.
I don't have any more felt so I might give leather (have plenty) mounted on rubber foam a try.

Hi Mate.

Most Rhodonite comes from Northern NSW. The Imperial Pink which I think this piece is comes from around Armidale from memory, devilishly hard to get a decent polish on as the graininess keeps exposing pits by pulling out grains, I have found that a really long time sanding on 600 grit removes the pits without removing too many sandy grains (more pits) you will probably never get a wet look shine on it though.

The bloodstone depends a lot on the piece. I had given up on it completely and smashed a lump of it into tumbling material a while back, I just pulled it out two days back and its stunning, finished with a fantastic water wet look, I had a rummage around in my garden this morning to see if I could find any of the pieces I threw out early on because I thought they were a waste of time.

The unknown green one could be another from northern NSW, or it could be an oldie from Moonlight Head.

The Corop Jasper is close to home so there's lots of it at the club, some of it spactacularly good, grading to spectacularly awful, I have seen some really nice pieces with bands of Agate through it.
Its on the Mt Pleasant Range all the way down to near Heathcote.

Your workflow seems pretty right, though I reckon I would be using a 220 grit as well to remove the scratches quickly, dont move off the 220 grit until you have the stone completely free of scratches and shaped exactly how you want it. Do this wet but allow the paper to dry out every so often so you can see if you are winning with the scratches, the powdery dust stays in the scratches and makes them easy to see with the stone dry, dont wipe it dry or you will wipe the dust out of the scratches. Don't breathe the dust though, Silicosis is apparently pretty horrible.

I presume you are using wet and dry paper, how are you sticking it on the foam? Spray contact adhesive is OK. but if you have a Rural store see if you can get a bottle of the glue the shearers use, Its a white smelly Latex glue, sticks well and peels off easily.
Foam Backing?
High density foam hiking mats are good for backing if you can pick up a used one cheaply at the Op shop or garage sale, even better is an old wetsuit with the cloth side out for gluing on.

If a large town near you has an auto paint shop get your wet and dry from them, way cheaper than Bunnings.

Polish.
What is Gamma polish? I thought I had come across everything.
If your felt is contaminated you can sometimes rescue it by hosing it with high pressure water, hose at an angle so you are forcing anything out rather than further in.
Cerium Oxide is great for Opals and Glass, Obsidian etc. I have a lot of different buffs with different polishes, if one thing doesn't work I give something else a go, Tin Oxide on felt is usually my go to polish, though I also use Chrome oxide, Aluminium Oxide Cerium Oxide and Diamond.
When polishing keep your buff (felt, leather, whatever) damp, not wet and not dry, apply the polish sparingly. Too much water and too much polish your stone is skating on a layer of wet polish and not much will happen. You should get a glassy finish in a very short time.
When you have finished cover your buffs with a supermarket bag but leave it a bit open for a while to allow air to dry it so it doesn't go mouldy.

Paul